Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Empty Sky is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Elton John, released on 6 June 1969. Recorded during the winter of 1968 and spring of 1969 in a DJM 8-track studio, Empty Sky is the only album in the early part of his career not produced by Gus Dudgeon, instead helmed by friend and DJM staffer Steve Brown. John plays harpsichord on several tracks, including "Skyline Pigeon", which John has described as being "the first song Bernie and I ever got excited about that we ever wrote." "Skyline Pigeon" is the most popular and best known song on the album, and is the only one which John, albeit infrequently, performs as part of his live shows. Although John has since called the album naive, he does have fond memories of making the record. These include walking home from recording at 4 a.m. and lodging at the Salvation Army HQ in Oxford Street, which was run by Steve Brown's father.